Chapter 3
The dead body of Thanos was lying there. Everyone was dead tired and looking at the big figure. Suddenly Stephen fell down, exhausted. Tony went and caught him.
"Are you okay?" Tony asked.
"I will be okay," Stephen said.
Peter sat on the ground.
"Kid, all good?" Tony asked.
"Yes, Mr. Stark. Just tired. How do we go home?" Peter asked.
"I can try portalling, but I’m not sure it’s possible since we’re in the other part of the universe," Stephen said.
He tried to stand up but collapsed back into Tony's arms.
"No, you need rest," Tony said.
"We have a ship, but the fuel is limited. Or we could wait for our friends. They're on their way, and you can take this ship to your home while we go with them," Quill suggested.
"Thanks, Quill," Tony said.
"We should find a better place to rest," Nebula said.
"Yes. Come on," Tony said, helping Stephen to walk.
Peter also came to help. They sat together.
Peter retracted his suit. His nose was bleeding, and Stephen noticed.
"Hey, are you okay?" Stephen asked, worried.
"Yes, I'm okay. It will heal soon," Peter said.
"You need to worry about yourself now. Take a rest," Tony said.
"Mr. Stark, we will be leaving this planet soon, right? Can I look around?" Peter asked.
"Don't go far," Tony said.
"Okay," Peter replied.
"Wait, take Levi with you," Stephen said.
Levi perked up and went with Peter. Stephen watched Peter with worry.
"Peter is strong. You need to rest, Stephen," Tony said, holding his hand.
Stephen smiled and leaned back to rest. He fell asleep quickly; his body was that tired.Tony also leaned back to get some rest. After some time, he felt a weight on his shoulder. Tony turned to see the wizard leaning on him, sleeping soundly.Tony watched the man. His sharp cheekbones had a lot of cuts, and his thick brown hair was falling over his forehead. Tony slowly brushed it back. Stephen cuddled closer to his side, and Tony chuckled at that.The powerful Sorcerer Supreme acting like a cat made his heart warm. Tony also leaned against him and took a nap.
"Mr. Stark, the ship is here," Peter said, waking Tony from his nap.
Tony woke up and turned to Stephen, who was still in deep sleep.
"Stephen, wake up," Tony said, tapping his cheek.
Stephen blinked and looked up.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, blushing.
"It's okay. You were tired. The ship is here. We're going home," Tony said.
"Oh, yeah. Let's go," Stephen said, standing up.
Tony, Stephen, and Peter walked toward the others.Thor, a rabbit, and a walking tree were with them.
"Tony!" Thor came and hugged him tightly.
"Hey, point-break. How are you?" Tony asked.
"I want to kill him myself. He killed everyone. Loki... He is dead; this time it's true. He died trying to save me," Thor said, sobbing.
"Hey, it's okay. He must be resting in peace," Tony said.
"He was the only one I had in this world. Now I'm alone," Thor said.
"You're not alone. The Avengers are a family," Tony said.
"Is Bruce okay? Is he alive?" Thor asked.
"Yes, he is. He is on Earth," Tony said.
"You can come with us," Tony offered.
"I will," Thor said, wiping his tears.
That's when Thor noticed Stephen.
"Wizard, you're also here," Thor said, going to hug him.
"You two know each other?" Tony asked.
"Yes, we met once," Stephen said, groaning in the strong arms of the God.
"Yes, we went to his wizard house. Loki was also with me. He helped to find our father. Wizard, he is gone. Loki is also...This monster killed him," Thor started crying again.
"What happened to him?" Tony murmured seeing Thor's mood swings.
"He has been like this since we met him. I think he is depressed," Rocket said.
"You can talk? I thought you were a stuffed animal. You also talk?" Tony asked looking at Groot with a surprised look.
"I'm Groot."
"Nice to meet you, Groot," Tony said.
Thor was still hugging Stephen.Tony noticed how uncomfortable was Stephen
"Thor, come on, let's go," Tony said, gently separating them.
"Yes, let's go to Earth. I want to see everyone. Or are they still alive? Did Thanos kill them too?" Thor asked.
"No, Thor, everyone is alive. We're going to meet them," Tony said, consoling him.
"Okay, come. Let's go," Thor said, walking toward the ship enthusiastically.
"Okay, everyone. See you sometime," Tony said to everyone.
"Yes, maybe we can visit Earth someday," Quill said.
"Sure, bye," Stephen said.
Tony, Stephen, and Peter entered the ship and said their final goodbyes.
Thor was all happy to go home and started the ship.
"Tony, who is this kid?" Thor asked.
"Hi, Mr. Thor. I'm Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man. I'm your big fan. Where is your hammer, sir?" Peter asked.
"My Mjolnir is also gone," Thor said sadly.
"But your new weapon is also cool. It suits you," Peter said.
"Thanks, kid. I like him," Thor said, grinning.
"Mr. Thor, can I sit in the front seat?" Peter asked.
"Sure, you can, kid," Thor said.
Tony and Stephen sat in the back seats."Earth, we're coming back," Thor said, pulling the lever.The ship started to fly up.
After a while, they reached outer space. Peter and Thor was talking non-stop with each other about everything.
"Guys, the ship is on auto-pilot. You can move your legs if you want. Kid, do you want to see the other part of the ship?" Thor asked.
"There's more?" Peter asked.
"Yes, come on. I will show you," Thor said.
Peter followed him.
Tony and Stephen were alone in the ship.
"I can't believe we fought an alien on an alien planet and won," Tony said, chuckling.
"Mmh... You're right! It's unbelievable," Stephen said.
"Stephen, can I ask you something?" Tony asked.
"Yeah?""You said there are two realities that we won. What was the other one?" Tony asked.
"I was scared of that reality more than losing," Stephen said.
"What happened in that one?" Tony asked.
"Please, I don't want to talk about it. I'm still trying to accept that this is our reality," Stephen said, sounding a little panicked.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to trigger you. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'm happy that we won," Tony said, pressing Stephen's hands.
Stephen calmed down.
"It's going to be a long journey. I think Peter and Thor have warmed up. I only have you to keep me company," Tony said, chuckling.
"You will have me, always," Stephen said softly, looking at Tony.
His blue eyes softened. Tony couldn't decipher the emotion behind them, but it felt nice.
"Mr. Stark, Mr. Thor said we will reach home in 30 days. And he said we can't travel through a black hole because we will die in the gravity pull," Peter said.
"Yes, you can't believe everything you see in movies," Tony said.
"Tony, how is Pepper?" Thor asked.
"She is great. We're kind of engaged," Tony said.
"Wow, that's awesome. When are you getting married?" Thor asked.
"The date is not decided. I'm not even sure if it's going to happen," Tony said.
"Why?" Thor asked.
"She doesn't want me to be in danger. But I can't stay away from danger. And this trip to space must have made her upset," Tony said.
"No, Tony. I know Pepper loves you. She has been with you through thick and thin, hasn't she? She will understand," Thor said.
"Yes, I hope so," Tony said.
Suddenly, Stephen walked away from them to another part of the ship. His cloak followed him.Tony watched the sudden change in his demeanor.
"Is he okay?" Peter asked, concerned.
"Excuse me," Tony said, following Stephen.
Stephen was standing in the darkness of space. His cloak was hugging him tightly.
"Hey, are you alright?" Tony asked, standing beside Stephen.
"Yes, Stark. You can go back to your friends," Stephen said without looking at Tony.
"Is it Stark again? Stephen, tell me what's going on," Tony said, grabbing his hand and making him turn.
"What do you want to know?" Stephen asked.
"You look .... sad. I want to know why," Tony said.
"Why do you even care? We're just two fighters who met on the battlefield. You have no right to worry about me. So, leave me alone, please," Stephen snapped.
"Oh! We're just two fighters who met on the field, right? I'm a fool to think this is more than professional courtesy. Sorry, Doc. I shouldn't have pried," Tony said with a sad smile and left Stephen alone.
Stephen watched the man walk away.
What is he doing? He can't have feelings for Tony Stark. He has a woman who is waiting for him, and the future holds a daughter for him. The stupid feelings he has for Tony could be the aftereffects of witnessing all those realities where that wonderful man sacrificed himself for the world. Stephen tried his best to prevent that from happening in their reality, but he can't claim any rights over Tony. He belongs to someone else, and he is happy with her.
So, the only thing Stephen could do was stay away from Tony—no, Stark—and bury his feelings inside him, acting like he hated him just as he had the day they first met.
Stephen watched the dark space outside. He had a long way to go.